Blood vessels, either veins or arteries, are often punctured or incised to allow insertion of a cannula, catheter, or endovascular instruments during surgical or interventional procedures. For example, during open-heart coronary bypass grafting surgeries, venous return cannulas are often inserted in the superior vena cava, inferior vena cava, or the right atrium, whereas an arterial cannula is inserted in the femoral artery to complete cardiopulmonary bypass. During minimally invasive cardiac surgeries, various endoscopic instruments and cannulas are inserted in a patient's ascending aorta through the chest wall to establish cardiopulmonary bypass and cardioplegia. After removal of these medical devices, the blood vessel is often left with an open wound. Sutures are generally required around the opening due to the large diameter of these medical devices.
The most common technique for quickly occluding vessel holes is the finger of an operator, who can quickly and easily locate the source of the leakage and occlude it with the tip of his or her finger. Disadvantages to this method are that (1) one hand of the operator is occupied holding the blood vessel, (2) having the operator's hand around the vessel opening reduces space available for suturing the blood vessel, and (3) vessel visualization and vessel access are compromised around the vessel opening due to crowding from the operator's hand and arm.
Another common method of occluding an opening on a blood vessel employs a mechanical clamp (partial occlusion clamp). A clamp, when positioned and closed over an opening of a vessel, can isolate the vessel hole from blood flow. Disadvantages associated with this method are that (1) not all vessels have sufficient space around the opening to position a clamp, (2) a blood vessel may be damaged from clamping its wall, and (3) a diseased blood vessel may shower emboli, and/or may be dissected, creating a false lumen.
A need exists for space conserving devices which provide sutureless occlusion of an opening of a blood vessel and provide minimum vessel manipulation and deformation during use.